When Heaven and Earth Howl (2)
An earthquake of magnitude 8.1!
A cataclysmic tremor of that scale had struck the very heart of Tokyo and its densely packed metropolitan area.
"A-Aaargh...! The house is collapsing!"
"Run!"
The houses shook with terrifying violence.
The people of the Japanese archipelago had suffered from earthquakes since time immemorial. They had learned to mitigate the primary, most fundamental damage of these tremors through relatively flexible architectural techniques. While a concrete building might snap in half, traditional wooden houses were often able to sway with the earth, enduring even the most violent shaking.
Yet, the sheer power of this earthquake defied all imagination. Those who managed to flee their homes and buildings stood aghast, even as they breathed sighs of relief.
"L-Look over there!"
"The bridge! The bridge is collapsing!"
"...Still, what if this had happened in the dead of night?"
"We would have been buried alive in our sleep."
"We're lucky it struck at lunchtime. Everyone was awake and cooking, so we could escape quickly."
"...Wait, did you say cooking?"
A cold sweat broke out among the survivors. People had been lighting stoves to heat their bento boxes. Others had been stoking fires in their hearths to cook rice. It was right around noon; almost every household would have been doing the same. Which meant...
"Fire! Fire!"
"Oh, no!"
Wooden houses might withstand earthquakes, but they were utterly defenseless against fire. To make matters worse, September was the season of typhoons. A recent storm had left the Kanto region whipped by ferocious gales. A great conflagration, far more terrifying than the earthquake itself, began to swallow Tokyo whole.
"W-Where is the fire brigade? Where are they?!"
"Another aftershock is coming!"
"Abandon the houses and run!"
Aftershocks striking every two hours, howling winds, and a raging inferno. It went without saying that over ninety percent of the casualties were caused by the fires. In just a single night, hundreds of thousands of buildings collapsed and burned to ash. It was a scene of apocalyptic devastation.
As is always the case in the wake of such disasters, sinister rumors began to circulate among those who had lost everything, from their property to their families.
"There are always warning signs before a massive earthquake, aren't there?"
"Yes... there are usually minor tremors beforehand."
"But this time... there was absolutely nothing!"
"Then what does that mean?"
"A-An even bigger one is coming! The entire archipelago is going to sink!"
Absurd rumors born of sheer panic began to spread. And it was no wonder, considering that more than ten aftershocks had struck on September 1st alone.
"Mount Fuji! Mount Fuji is going to erupt!"
"A tsunami is coming to swallow the islands!"
Amidst these dark, ominous rumors, it was inevitable that political whispers would soon follow.
"If Japan is ruined by this earthquake, what will happen to Joseon?"
"Those Chosenjin are always like that. They're probably dancing with joy that Japanese people are dying, calling it divine punishment..."
"Who knows? Maybe those Chosenjin prayed to the heavens to bring this earthquake upon us."
"They'll definitely use this chance to riot and take their revenge on Japan!"
These wild speculations spread from mouth to mouth, quickly hardening into accepted facts. In such chaos, it was only natural for refugees to turn into bands of looters. As marauding mobs cropped up everywhere and dark rumors festered, a catastrophe began to unfold—one that even the Japanese government could no longer control.
"Did you hear Tanaka-san was mugged yesterday?"
"They stripped him of everything but his clothes... He's lucky to be alive."
"But... they said the robber's accent was strange?"
Every finger pointed to a single conclusion: taking advantage of Japan's collapse, the Koreans had turned into rioters! By the third day of the disaster, the Japanese had formed vigilante groups, slaughtering not only Koreans but anyone deemed socially vulnerable.
Kita Ikki egged on Araki Sadao.
"Commander of the Gendarmerie, move the troops immediately!"
"But the Imperial General Headquarters has not issued an order..."
"The entire Kanto region has collapsed. Do you truly believe another opportunity like this will ever present itself?"
"...I suppose not."
"The other generals cannot move their troops on their own authority right now. Who else but the Gendarmerie would dare commit the madness of mobilizing forces during a national disaster?"
Conveniently, Araki Sadao was the Gendarmerie Commander. Since the primary role of the Gendarmerie was policing, investigation, and maintaining public order, Araki was the only one who could mobilize troops without immediately raising suspicion.
"First, we must seize control of this situation. We must win the hearts of the people."
"What about the police?"
"How can mere police stop an army?"
While other commanders dithered in the face of this unprecedented crisis, Kita Ikki and Araki Sadao moved with terrifying speed. Aside from the police, no one could stand in Araki's way. In an instant, the entire Kanto region fell under the control of Araki's Gendarmerie. Mobilizing not only their official forces but also the radical young officers under their personal influence, they began to masterfully manage the panicked refugees.
"Wait... what about the food supply? There isn't a single grain of rice left in Tokyo!"
"Raid the nearby rice mills. If all else fails, we seize the military rations."
"What?"
"Is there not a supply depot in Tokyo? Forge an order from high command, then seize all the rice."
"And the manpower...?"
"Bring in the soldiers stationed in Kanto. We are the ones maintaining order in these ruins. Who could possibly stop us?"
"Indeed, we are the only ones capable of resolving this crisis."
Before Kita Ikki's eyes, the specter of revolution began to shimmer. Revolution, after all, is always born from ruins. Over five hundred thousand buildings had collapsed in Tokyo alone, and across the entire Kanto region, the number surely exceeded a million. The immediate casualties were at least a hundred thousand. The Japanese economy, which had been slowly growing under the cushion of American investment, was now utterly ruined.
"That we happened to be together at that exact moment, and that you, General, happen to be the Gendarmerie Commander... Is this not proof that the Mandate of Heaven is upon us?"
"The Mandate of Heaven... The Mandate of Heaven, indeed."
Araki Sadao forged 'orders from above' to release all stockpiled military rations to the public, and even went so far as to command other military units stationed in Kanto without authorization. Needless to say, he completely ignored any actual orders from his superiors.
The cabinet and the military command consulted hastily and declared martial law across the Kanto region. But as soon as the newly appointed Martial Law Commander arrived in Kanto, he was struck with horror by Araki Sadao's unilateral actions.
"Commander Araki Sadao! What in God's name are you doing here in Kanto?!"
"Is it not obvious? I am maintaining public order."
"Is that what they call insubordination these days? I will overlook what has transpired so far, so hand over your authority to the Martial Law Command immediately."
"While the cabinet and the military brass fled in terror from the earthquake, I alone remained here to preserve order!"
"This is no mere insubordination—it is a coup d'état! What are you waiting for? Arrest Araki Sadao at once!"
But Araki Sadao and Kita Ikki were already blinded by those two words: the Mandate of Heaven. Araki gave a slight tilt of his chin. At that signal, a swarm of junior officers from the Tohoku region, who had been waiting in the adjacent room, burst inside.
"W-What is the meaning of this?!"
"The Martial Law Commander appears fatigued. See to it that he gets some rest immediately."
"Unhand me! Let go of me this instant!"
It was hardly the first time officers of the Imperial Japanese Army had overstepped their authority based on 'field judgment.' This was an army capable of starting entire wars on a whim, after all. Believing this was merely another case of overzealous insubordination in a time of crisis, the Martial Law Commander had never dreamed they would go so far as to launch a coup. He had arrived expecting to shout a few reprimands and kick some shins, as was the custom.
Araki Sadao had the Martial Law Commander bound and dragged away in the blink of an eye. Watching from behind, Kita Ikki nodded in approval.
"Well done."
"Haha! Does the Mandate of Heaven truly reside with us?"
"Indeed. For that fool to deliver himself straight into our hands... it is as if the realm itself has walked through our front door."
After abducting the commander, Araki Sadao began churning out all manner of official documents under the captive's name. It took a mere three days. Three days of disaster were all Kita Ikki and the Imperial Way Faction needed to seize absolute power.
"...The Koreans are gathering in droves in one place?"
"Yes, Commander!"
"This is highly suspicious... Why now, of all times?"
Araki Sadao vividly remembered the March 1st Movement. Back then, the Koreans had gathered in the plazas to rise up, and the cabinet, crippled by military disarmament, had failed to suppress the rebellion properly. And now, a similar situation was brewing. At this exact moment, when the nation was plunged into an unprecedented disaster!
"Those Chosenjin are not content with rioting in their own land; now they dare to stir up trouble here in Japan! And while everyone is grieving from the earthquake, no less!"
"Commander, what are your orders?"
"There is no telling what those gathered Koreans might do. Kill them all!"
The Imperial Way Faction was already harboring deep resentment over the government's appeasement policies in Joseon. To think another March 1st Movement was about to occur... and on the mainland, of all places!
In the original timeline, Kita Ikki had willingly sheltered Koreans like Park Yeol, believing that under His Imperial Majesty, Koreans were also subjects of the empire, and that slaughtering them under the cover of a disaster was unacceptable. But in this timeline, Kita Ikki had been forced to return home in haste due to the Sino-Japanese War, leaving him no time to build friendships with Korean revolutionaries. Furthermore, the majority of the officers harbored a deep-seated hatred for Joseon, viewing it as a symbol of military disarmament. There was no one left to stop the impending massacre.
"W-What on earth is happening...?"
"My God, the very heavens and earth are shaking!"
The Korean Peninsula was historically free of major earthquakes. Most Koreans did not even know what an earthquake was. Terrified by this first encounter with such a cataclysm, they naturally huddled together with their compatriots. These were the very people who, just four years prior, had shocked Japan with their massive protests. And now, in the midst of this disaster, they had gathered once more, packing the plazas in tight, unified crowds.
"The Chosenjin have finally lost their minds!"
"This is what happens when that pathetic cabinet coddles them with appeasement!"
"The time has come to avenge the humiliation of March 1st!"
Delighted by the order to exterminate every Chosenjin gathered in the plazas, the junior officers eagerly drew the swords at their hips. They began to hack down every Korean in sight.
"P-Please, spare me!"
"Hahaha! Look at that Chosenjin run!"
"Get over here, you bitch!"
"Look at this! So that's what human guts look like."
Wherever the Gendarmerie went, unspeakable horrors followed. The Japanese public, thoroughly convinced by the absurd rumors that Koreans were committing arson and instigating riots, cheered the slaughter. Fueled by the applause, the junior officers grew even more ecstatic, butchering Koreans in every gruesome manner imaginable.
Except for one man.
"Hmm? Renya. Why aren't you drawing your sword?"
"Well, I just..."
"Tsk! I suppose a desk-bound scholar who's never seen a real battlefield has no stomach for this. Watch! This is how you do it. Hah!"
An officer beside Renya slashed mercilessly at the back of a fleeing Korean. Japan was indeed a nation of samurai; with a single, swift strike, the body was cleaved clean in two.
"Bwahaha! See that, Renya? That's how it's done!"
The fellow officer, his face so drenched in blood he no longer looked human, grinned. Against his crimson-stained face, only the whites of his eyes and his bared teeth stood out. Renya's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Just sit there then. I'm going to have some more fun. Halt, you rebellious Koreans!"
As Renya watched the carnage in a daze, his entire body trembling, a young woman came crawling toward him along the dirt. She looked about five years younger than him, a beautiful girl who surely would have turned heads in her neighborhood... but her Achilles tendons had been brutally severed. She would have to crawl on the ground for the rest of her life. Clinging to Renya's leg, she began to weep, pleading in broken Japanese.
"Samurai-sama, please spare me... please, Samurai-sama!"
"I-I..."
"W-We did nothing wrong. Why must we die?"
Renya stared blankly at the Korean woman, drowning in a swamp of despair and helplessness. Then, as if reaching a sudden resolution, he clenched his fists and stood up.
"Samurai-sama!"
"A... samurai? I am a samurai?"
The vacant look in Renya's eyes vanished, replaced by a burning, crimson light. The very 'incompetence' that ignored reality in favor of raw grit was, in truth, an unyielding 'resolve' that refused to bow to grim circumstances. His irresponsible optimism, built on delusions, was an infinite 'confidence' reaching for an unattainable ideal. His boundless stubbornness was the pride of a samurai, destined to break before it would ever bend.
The hour before dawn is always the darkest. Mutaguchi Renya had awakened! Yet, though he had awakened, his love for innocent civilians remained entirely unchanged!
"Indeed. I am a samurai. A warrior who protects the Emperor and the nation from above, and harbors filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity within his heart!"
With that, Renya drew his katana from his left hip.
"P-Please don't kill me! Ahhh!"
Renya swung his blade without hesitation. Yet, not a single hair on the Korean woman's head was harmed. Realizing she was untouched, she slowly opened her eyes.
"G-Gah... Renya, you... betrayed us?"
The one cut down by Renya's sword was not the Korean woman, but the Japanese officer who had been about to run her through.
"What is your name?"
"Samurai-sama?"
"I asked for your name."
"I-I am Kim Mi-ja."
"Mi-ja?"
Renya flicked his sword through the air, spraying the blood from his blade onto the ground.
"I am Mutaguchi Renya."
"Ren... ya?"
"A samurai who knows benevolence and righteousness. Unlike those beasts."
Katana in hand, Mutaguchi Renya began to cut down the junior officers slaughtering the Koreans, taking them on single-handedly.
"You traitorous bastard...!"
"It is you who have betrayed the way of the warrior! Is it the mark of a true samurai to slaughter defenseless women and children?"
"And a traitor like you is supposed to be a true samurai?!"
"Someone once asked Mencius, 'Is it permissible for a subject to slay his sovereign?' Mencius answered without a moment's hesitation: 'Indeed, it is only right!'"
Renya single-handedly cut down nearly fifteen junior officers. Striking down men blinded by the ecstasy of slaughter was no difficult task.
"If you wish to live, you must flee. Mi-ja."
"But my... my legs..."
"Sigh. Climb onto my back."
Hoisting Kim Mi-ja onto his back, Mutaguchi Renya ran forward into the unknown.